SALT LAKE CITY — For Jay Windley, coming to the Pride Parade felt like coming home.
“I grew up in the church in the Midwest, and I moved here to go to school thinking, 'Great, we moved to the cradle of the faith,'” he said Sunday morning. “As time went on, it just felt less and less genuine with who I am.”
Then, Windley found his people.
“This group, these people, this community has just become my family,” he said.
He was one of thousands of people who made their way through Salt Lake City’s downtown for the 35th annual Pride Parade on Sunday.
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The parade, which began at 100 South West Temple and ended at 300 South 400 East, took place as President Donald Trump continues to roll back LGBTQ+ rights across the country.
“Our community is coming under attack politically, socially, and that’s unfortunate,” Windley said. “It seems likely we won a lot of progress that’s now being taken away from us.”
The first Pride parade was held on June 28, 1970, in New York City — a year after the Stonewall Riots in 1969.
Jasmine De La Cruz, an attendee at Sunday's parade who lives in Kearns, sat with her friends while watching people wave colorful flags and dance. It was her first pride parade.
“I came from an immigrant household, so it’s been harder; my parents weren’t raised with the idea of sexuality,” she said. “Over time, they’ve grown to respect me and others.”
After the parade, people made their way to the Utah Pride Festival at Washington Square Park at noon.
As for Windley, he’s staying here, where it feels like home.
“We’re here, we’ve always been here, and we’re not going anywhere,” he said.
